When a giant tanker recently left from the port of Galveston, Texas, it didn’t seem like a big deal. But the NYT explains why it was: “The 400,000 barrels the tanker carried represented the first unrestricted export of American oil to a country outside of North America in nearly four decades.”

+ Reuters: As oil prices tank, a new era of abundance seen dawning. (Have we reached peak peak oil?)

+ Why most Alaskans got a check for $1,884 last week. (Hint: They’re in the oil business.)